THE WAY things are going for Liverpool right now, they will be lucky to qualify for the Conference League next season, never mind the Champions League.
And whatever point Arne Slot is making by benching club legend Mo Salah then it is clearly not having the desired effect – because his defenders are gifting everybody early Christmas presents.
Just when boss Slot thought he had made the right call in attack for a second successive away fixture by dropping Salah – and Hugo Ekitike stepped up with two goals in two minutes – the Reds defence dropped him right in it.
In the sixth minute of 11 minutes of stoppage time, Leeds scored an equaliser through Japanese star Ao Tanaka, who had scored a stunner against Chelsea three days earlier.
Already this has been a pitiful title defence but the way his back line are behaving, led by the ineffective Virgil van Dijk, then more questions will be asked of Slot’s decisions.
And the call to keep out Salah once again, especially when you consider his incredible record against Leeds, backfired because they cannot keep the ball out of their own defence.
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Elland Road was rocking last Wednesday night as hated rivals Chelsea, particularly their three Brazilian lads, found the going tough on a cold evening in West Yorkshire.
What Leeds did so well in that timeless 3-1 victory, despite having just 29% possession, was to dominate the physical duels and get into the faces of the world club champions.
More significantly, the decision to go with three at the back from the start against the Londoners, having introduced it as an experimental system in the second half of their visit last month to Manchester City, was a masterstroke by Daniel Farke.
Understandably, the German boss – who pointedly hugged chairman Paraag Marathe after that result following speculation over his future – stuck with the new 3-5-2 formula for the arrival of the under-pressure Premier League champions.
Lukas Nmecha bullied Chelsea centre-backs Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoit Badiashile in midweek but a hamstring injury ruled out the German forward.
Replacement Noah Okafor, instructed to work in tandem with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, could have lifted the roof off the famous cantilever stand with his endeavours inside two minutes.
The Swiss striker, 25, tried his luck from range as the rain cascaded down, and his shot flashed wide of Alisson Becker’s goal, but it was an early warning.
Theatrically, Okafor – born in 2000, the year that Leeds last beat Liverpool at home – tried to whip up the crowd and raise the decibel levels.
It was fighting talk and down the other end, Leeds’ Brazilian goalkeeper had brought along his boxing gloves.
When a cross came into his box, Lucas Perri punched the ball clear with authority but his fists accidentally connected with the face of Liverpool’s front man Hugo Ekitike.
Eventually play came to a half as Ekitike lay stricken on the pitch and the Frenchman, 23, underwent an on-pitch concussion protocol to assess the impact after that head injury.
In the background, VAR technician John Brooks in London declined to intervene in the aerial battle.
Minutes later, Perri could not get his mitts on Curtis Jones’s 16th-minute curler but the Leeds No.1 was fortunate the ball rattled against the crossbar instead of being inches lower in its trajectory.
Van Dijk, who was grateful defensive partner Ibrahima Konate cleaned up his mess after a sloppy backwards header failed to reach Alisson, had a huge chance to score on 27 minutes.
The Liverpool captain timed his run well to meet the delivery from Dominik Szoboszlai but his effort went over, and he clattered into Slovenian stopper Jaka Bijol for his troubles.
It had been a scrappy rather than violent first-half encounter.
But ref Anthony Taylor, accused by disgruntled Leeds fans of being a “Scouser in black”, cautioned three people for mistimed challenges on the slick surface.
There had been NO shots on target in the first half but no sooner had the second half started that there were fireworks, led by Ekitike, and Leeds had fallen apart.
Joe Rodon was the one to blame – his hospital pass from the right flank, which was intended for Ethan Ampadu, was gladly intercepted by Ekitike and he slotted home with confidence.
It was an early Christmas present by the Welsh defender who, as a Premier League player, really should do so much better.
Within minutes, the Reims man was at it again, ricocheting home a cross from Conor Bradley, though Perri came off worse in the collision.
This came shortly after Ekitike had a penalty appeal waved away and the goal also survived a lengthy offside check – but the automated cameras indicated he was onside, albeit it was a tight call.
VAR did get involved on 69 minutes when Konate slid in on Leeds sub Wilfried Gnonto, swiping away his right leg, and Taylor reversed his on-field decision for the “careless challenge”.
Former Everton star Calvert-Lewin, 28, scored with precision from the penalty and this led to a barnstorming finale.
Liverpool’s defence has been porous this season and Anton Stach found the gap through it with a stunning strike – a second goal in two minutes to mirror Liverpool’s antics.
Szoboszlai, who struggles to sleep after matches, thought he had won the contest when he scored Liverpool’s third, as he benefited from Ryan Gravenberch’s through pass, for his fourth goal this season.
But then Tanaka was the hero once again as he scored from a late corner, even though Gravenberch accidentally handled.
Cue bedlam in the stands while Slot could only slump his shoulders and bow his head, a sight that is becoming all too regular for him and Liverpool.
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